The Delaware River Port Authority was able to reopen the Walt Whitman Bridge to full-width traffic nine months early, $600,000 under budget, and with no claims thanks to the team efforts of construction managers Urban Engineers and joint venture partner URS (Urban/URS JV), the contractor American Bridge, the designer AECOM, and the Delaware River Port Authority.
The Delaware River Port Authority implemented $128 million in improvements to the 55+-year-old structure, which involved replacing the seven-lane, 3,500-foot-long suspension span roadway deck with a lightweight concrete floating deck, and the 250-foot-long PA and NJ anchorage decks.
The bridge serves as a vital artery between Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, PA, averaging 120,000 vehicles per day.
Construction of the seven-lane deck was completed in seven stages working adjacent to live traffic, 150 feet over the Delaware River. Urban/URS JV worked in partnership with subconsultants HNTB Corp., Armand Corp. (WBE), and JCMS, Inc. (MBE) to perform the construction management and inspection.